Day 2,
November 14,
2015
Massey DL and RB Jalen Burley (55)
Massey QB Andreas Dueck (11)
St. Paul’s O-Lineman Matt Kaneski (57)
St. Paul’s Riley Naujoks hands to Remi Tshiovo
22 / sportslife
Massey Upsets St. Paul’s
to Win Potter Crown
Vincent Massey Trojans head coach
Kelsey McKay knew his young
charges would have to bring the
defensive effort of the season if they
hoped to shut down the undefeated
St. Paul’s Crusaders.
Mission accomplished.
By getting outstanding play from
the likes of defensive backs Abdul
Gassama, Brayden Saville, Keenan
Onyebuchi and Geleta Gurmu,
defensive lineman Jalen Burley and
linebackers Jonah Komorofsky and
Jared Ott, McKay’s Trojans shut
down the Crusaders high-powered
passing offence and beat St. Paul’s
22-12 at Investors Group Field on
Friday night to win the Winnipeg
High School Football League’s Potter
(Triple A) Division championship.
It was the first championship for
Massey, a team finished the season
with a record of 9-1. The Trojans lost
13-7 to St. Paul’s 10 weeks ago in the
WHSFL season opener.
The Crusaders, meanwhile,
lost the Potter championship
game for the second straight year.
Last November, they lost a 1716 heartbreaker to the Oak Park
Raiders.
In the Vidruk Division final, held just
before the St. Paul-Vincent Massey
game, the Sturgeon Heights Huskies
beat the Steinbach Sabres 17-10.
“They bought into everything we
gave them,” said Massey head coach
Kelsey McKay. “They trusted us and
trusted each other. You should have
heard our pre-game meal last night.
Not a dry eye in the house. How
much respect these guys have for
each other, it’s amazing. That’s what
it’s all about.”
Massey jumped right on St. Paul’s
and on their second possession,
drove down to the Crusaders 13 yard
line where Findlay Brown booted a
20-yard field goal.
The Crusaders took a 6-3 lead
early in the second quarter when
quarterback Riley Naujoks hit
wideout Cole Zadro on a 13-yard
pass and run play for a touchdown.
The convert was missed at St. Paul’s
led 6-3.
After that, it was all Massey.
While the Massey defense shut
down the St. Paul’s offence and
forced a safety to make the score
6-5, the Trojans offence revved up.
Massey quarterback Andreas Dueck
found a wide-open Jeremy Gillis in
the end-zone for a 14-yard TD and
with Brown’s convert, the Trojans led
12-6.
Before the half ended, Brown
kicked another 20-yard field goal
and Massey went to the break with a
15-6 lead.
After a scoreless third quarter,
Massey put it away when Gassama
picked off a Naujoks pass and
returned it 65 yards to the St. Paul’s
14 yard line, After an 11-yard run
by Dueck, Liam Casey took it the
final three yards for the touchdown
and that’s all Massey needed. With
Findlay’s convert they led 22-6 and
while Naujoks hit Lukas Skrumeda
late in the game for a 10-yard
touchdown, the two-point conversion
was missed and that did it.
Massey had won its first ANAVETS
Trophy.
In a penalty-filled Vidruk final,
Sturgeon Heights got 235 yards
– including the game-deciding
three-yard TD run – on 25 carries
from player of the game, Kaeden
Corrie, to win its first Class AA
championship.
Corrie might have rushed for 300
or even 400 yards, had penalties
not erased some of his longest and
most dynamic runs of the night. As
it was, the game was tied 10-10 late
in the fourth quarter, when Corrie
completed a drive with a threeyard touchdown romp to give the
Huskies the championship.
Stephen Hunt also scored a
touchdown for Sturgeon on an
11-yard run while Patrick Maendel
ran three yards for Steinbach’s only
major score.
All in all, it was a tremendous
night of hi